TAP continues to receive strong political support in South Eastern Europe

13 giugno 2013

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The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of six countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy and Montenegro – met in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 12th June to demonstrate their support for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and for the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP).

On the occasion of this High Level meeting which included representatives from Azerbaijan, the European Commission and TAP, Michael Hoffmann, External Affairs Director of TAP, said:

“We are pleased and grateful to receive strong and continuous political support for our pipeline. The Dubrovnik meeting is a testament to our project’s advanced status and unmatched benefits. TAP is the most strategic solution for supplying gas to South Eastern Europe: it will contribute to boosting energy security in the region and enhance economic development. With the Shah Deniz consortium decision on the Southern Gas Corridor expected by the end of the month, we remain confident that TAP is the best solution to transport Caspian gas to Europe: the shortest, most technically feasible and, above all, the only project ready for implementation.”

The Dubrovnik meeting follows the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the TAP and IAP pipelines by Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro in May 2013 as well as a declaration of support by the Adriatic Ionian Initiative Council.

Earlier this year in April, TAP’s host countries (Italy, Greece and Albania) held the first Trilateral Cooperation Committee Meeting in Rome, where they expressed their commitment to the realisation of the project as per the Intergovernmental Agreement signed in February.

ENDS

About the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)

TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to the most attractive markets in Europe.

The pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

TAP’s routing can facilitate gas supply to several South Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and others. TAP’s landfall in Italy, the third largest gas market in Europe, provides multiple opportunities for further transport of Caspian natural gas to some of the largest European markets such as Germany, France, the UK, Switzerland and Austria.

Designed to expand the capacity from 10 to 20 bcm per year, TAP will open up the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, enhancing Europe's energy security by providing a new source of gas.

TAP’s shareholders are Axpo of Switzerland (42.5%), Norway’s Statoil (42.5%) and E.ON of Germany (15%). Shah Deniz Consortium members – BP, SOCAR and Total - have the option to join TAP, if it is selected in June 2013 as the gas transportation route to Europe, and they are currently funding the development of the TAP project.